Once it became clear that the government shutdown was going to last a while, I decided to take advantage of the time to tackle some more complicated baking projects. Laminated doughs -- where butter is encased between layers of dough that are folded and rolled repeatedly to create flaky layers that puff up during baking -- seemed like a great challenge.
I've made quick puff pastry before, but I've never made real puff pastry, Danishes, or croissants. I thought I should take some baby steps first, so I decided to start out with a Danish pastry recipe from Beatrice Ojakangas that takes the same shortcut as quick puff pastry -- instead of encasing a block of butter in an envelope of dough, you cut butter into flour using a food processor, and then roll and fold the dough to create the buttery layers.
This recipe was featured on the PBS series Baking With Julia (you can watch the video here), and is included in the companion cookbook of the same name. My guilt over using the food processor was assuaged by the recipe headnote, which says: "Don't think you're cheating by taking the fast track -- this is the way it's done these days all over Denmark, where they know great Danish when they taste it."
To make the dough, you soften dry yeast in warm water, and mix in milk, an egg, sugar, and salt. Meanwhile, you pulse cold butter and flour in the food processor until the butter is in 1/2-inch chunks. You dump the flour and butter into the liquid, and stir until everything is moistened. At this point, the dough looks like a complete disaster (watch the video I referenced above and you can see for yourself). After chilling overnight, the dough still looks like a disaster.
You roll the dough out and make three single turns (where you fold the dough in thirds like a letter and then roll the folded dough flat; each time you increase the number of layers of butter and dough by a factor of three). Unlike traditional puff pastry or croissant dough, this recipe does not call for chilling the dough between turns (unless it gets too soft to roll, which mine did not), so you can do all of the rolling in no time at all. The disaster quickly transforms into a neat, tidy, and well-behaved dough.
After another bit of chilling, the dough is ready to shape and fill. I decided to make pinwheels, so I rolled out the dough, cut it into squares, and put dollops of cherry and almond filing in the middle of each piece of dough. (Even though I've never had a pastry with two fillings, the recipe says to "do as the Danes do" and use both a fruit filling and either confectioner's cream or almond filling; in the photo below, you can just make out the cherry filling beneath the almond filling.) I cut the corners of each square of dough and made the pinwheel shape, using beaten egg white to glue the flaps of the pinwheel to the center. After another quick rise, some egg wash, and a sprinkle of sugar, the Danishes are ready to bake.
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I was ecstatic when I saw that the dough puffed up nicely into layers during baking. The interior of the Danishes also looked great, with a nice airy, even crumb. I also loved the combination of cherry and almond fillings -- the almond filling in particular (almond, powdered sugar, butter, almond extract, and egg white mixed together in the food processor) was absolutely delicious.
But here's the thing. The pastry part of the Danish tasted exactly like a supermarket Danish. It was not particularly buttery or flavorful. I even though it could have been a bit sweeter. In that respect, I found these somewhat disappointing; after all of the effort of making my own Danish dough, I was certainly expecting something qualitatively better than what I might pick up at any grocery store bakery section. So I simultaneously consider these Danishes a success and a disappointment. But they were definitely a great start to my furlough baking project; hopefully there are better and tastier laminated doughs in my future!
Recipe: "Danish Pastry," "Apricot Filling" (adapted to cherry), and "Almond Filling" by Beatrice Ojakangas, in Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan; pastry recipe available here.
Previous Post: "Does Ruff Puff Have the Right Stuff?:Quick Puff Pastry," April 18, 2011.
I've made quick puff pastry before, but I've never made real puff pastry, Danishes, or croissants. I thought I should take some baby steps first, so I decided to start out with a Danish pastry recipe from Beatrice Ojakangas that takes the same shortcut as quick puff pastry -- instead of encasing a block of butter in an envelope of dough, you cut butter into flour using a food processor, and then roll and fold the dough to create the buttery layers.
This recipe was featured on the PBS series Baking With Julia (you can watch the video here), and is included in the companion cookbook of the same name. My guilt over using the food processor was assuaged by the recipe headnote, which says: "Don't think you're cheating by taking the fast track -- this is the way it's done these days all over Denmark, where they know great Danish when they taste it."
To make the dough, you soften dry yeast in warm water, and mix in milk, an egg, sugar, and salt. Meanwhile, you pulse cold butter and flour in the food processor until the butter is in 1/2-inch chunks. You dump the flour and butter into the liquid, and stir until everything is moistened. At this point, the dough looks like a complete disaster (watch the video I referenced above and you can see for yourself). After chilling overnight, the dough still looks like a disaster.
You roll the dough out and make three single turns (where you fold the dough in thirds like a letter and then roll the folded dough flat; each time you increase the number of layers of butter and dough by a factor of three). Unlike traditional puff pastry or croissant dough, this recipe does not call for chilling the dough between turns (unless it gets too soft to roll, which mine did not), so you can do all of the rolling in no time at all. The disaster quickly transforms into a neat, tidy, and well-behaved dough.
After another bit of chilling, the dough is ready to shape and fill. I decided to make pinwheels, so I rolled out the dough, cut it into squares, and put dollops of cherry and almond filing in the middle of each piece of dough. (Even though I've never had a pastry with two fillings, the recipe says to "do as the Danes do" and use both a fruit filling and either confectioner's cream or almond filling; in the photo below, you can just make out the cherry filling beneath the almond filling.) I cut the corners of each square of dough and made the pinwheel shape, using beaten egg white to glue the flaps of the pinwheel to the center. After another quick rise, some egg wash, and a sprinkle of sugar, the Danishes are ready to bake.
.JPG)
But here's the thing. The pastry part of the Danish tasted exactly like a supermarket Danish. It was not particularly buttery or flavorful. I even though it could have been a bit sweeter. In that respect, I found these somewhat disappointing; after all of the effort of making my own Danish dough, I was certainly expecting something qualitatively better than what I might pick up at any grocery store bakery section. So I simultaneously consider these Danishes a success and a disappointment. But they were definitely a great start to my furlough baking project; hopefully there are better and tastier laminated doughs in my future!
Recipe: "Danish Pastry," "Apricot Filling" (adapted to cherry), and "Almond Filling" by Beatrice Ojakangas, in Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan; pastry recipe available here.
Previous Post: "Does Ruff Puff Have the Right Stuff?:Quick Puff Pastry," April 18, 2011.
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